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An Essex couple are launching a new website that that takes the pain and hassle out of searching for used cars.
SourceMyCar.co.uk turns the traditional way of looking for the car of your choice on its head. Instead of tramping round some of the estimated 10,000 car dealers in the UK and spending hours online in a fruitless search, all users have to do is fill in a form with the details of the car they're looking for.
The details are then circulated to participating car dealers – if they have a match they pass the details on to the potential buyer through SourceMyCar.co.uk, so that they can arrange a viewing, a test drive and hopefully, a purchase.
The idea of bringing the dealer to the buyer came about after Rayleigh partners Dawn Willis and Shelley Clarke kept drawing a blank when searching a new car.
"We didn't want anything flashy or rare," says Dawn, "Just a black Toyota Rav 4 with sat nav. We knew the car we wanted was out there somewhere but the hunt had been going on for months and there just had to be a better way."
She adds: "We got to thinking how much time we'd save if only we could get the dealers to come to us – and that's how the idea for Source My Car was born!"
SourceMyCar.co.uk is the couple's first online venture and they've designed it to be quick and simple to use. It's free for buyers, while dealers pay a fee based on subscription periods of between a month and a year.
Besides being able to specify the make and model they're looking for, buyers can add details such as mileage, engine size, colour, extras and more – and say how far they're prepared to travel to see the vehicle. Only dealers within the specified area will get in touch, though they'll also be able to list close matches if they have them.
The site goes live today and Essex car dealers are being signed up first, with other regions following later.
Says Dawn: "If you're a buyer, it means no more pounding the streets – or the keyboard – in a fruitless search for the car of your dreams. And if you're a dealer, Source My Car is the best way to find willing, ready buyers for the cars on your forecourt. How simple is that?"